The DI women’s regular season winds down over the next two weeks and conference playoffs are on deck. There is almost no uniformity to the postseason, as each women’s college hockey conference tournament uses a different format. Here’s a short primer on what each league’s championship looks like and the dates for the 2024 tournaments.
CHA
The top four teams in the CHA advance to the post season. There is a best-of-three semifinal series with the No. 1 seed hosting the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed hosting the No. 3 seed Feb. 23-25. The two winners will face off in a single-elimination Championship game March 1-2 that will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
The overall tournament winner receives an auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament.
ECAC
All twelve teams advance to the post season. The top four teams receive an opening round bye and will not play the weekend of Feb. 23-24.
The opening round is a single-elimination round. The No. 5 seed hosts the No. 12 seed, the No. 6 seed hosts the No. 7 seed hosts the No. 10 seed and the No. 9 seed hosts the No. 8 seed.
No. 12 at No. 5
No. 11 at No. 6
No. 10 at No. 7
No. 9 at No. 8
The quarterfinal round is a best-of-three series taking place March 1-3. The No. 1 seeds hosts the winner of the 8/9 game, the No. 2 seed hosts the winner of the 7/10 game, the No. 3 seed hosts the winner of the 6/11 game and the No. 4 seed hosts the winner of the 5/12 games.
The bracket will reseed after the quarterfinal and the highest remaining seed will serve as host for the semifinals and finals on March 8 and 9.
Hockey East
All Hockey East teams advance to the postseason. All games are single-elimination and are hosted by the higher seed. Seeds No.1 – No. 6 receive an opening round bye. No. 7 will host No. 10 and No. 8 will host No. 9 in opening round games on Feb. 28.
Teams are reseeded before heading into the quarterfinals. The top two seeds will host the winners of the opening round games while No. 3 will host No. 6 and No. 4 will host No. 5. Those games are schedule for March 2.
Semifinals are scheduled for March 6 and the Championships will be played on March 9.
NEWHA
All eight teams advance to the postseason. The quarterfinals are a best-of-three series to be held Feb. 23-25 at the higher seed’s rink.
No. 8 at No. 1
No. 7 at No. 2
No. 6 at No. 3
No. 5 at No. 4
The semifinals are slated for March 2 and are single-elimination. The teams are reseeded after the quarterfinals.
Lowest Remaining Seed at Highest Remaining Seed
Second Lowest Remaining Seed at Second Highest Remaining Seed
The Championship game is March 9 at the highest seed’s home rink.
WCHA
All eight teams advance to the postseason. The quarterfinals are a best-of-three series to be held March 1-3 at the higher seed’s rink.
No. 8 at No. 1
No. 7 at No. 2
No. 6 at No. 3
No. 5 at No. 4
Winners advance to the Final Faceoff, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed. The semifinal games are schedule for March 8 at 1 and 4 p.m. central time. The Championship is schedule for 2 p.m. central on March 9.
The 2024 NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament Selection Show will air live on ESPNews at 12:30 p.m. eastern on March 10.
